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Opinion: The cannabis boom could be good for science — and scientists

For scientists propelled by the thrill of discovery, cannabis — a commonplace yet spectacularly complex plant — offers the chance to set a new course in human understanding and health.
Source: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images

I’ve been a chemistry professor for 15 years and a chemist for longer than that. Through most of that time, I paid little heed to cannabis, thinking that this plant held one main chemical of interest: tetrahydrocannabinol, its psychoactive ingredient.

I now know that cannabis contains a galaxy of unexplored compounds — cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, polyphenols, and more — that may well transform our understanding of plant medicine and human biology. I find this new territory inspiring.

This discovery came about after a colleague put me in touch with a cannabis genomics company that was engaged in the

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